Morning Manna by Rufus Parker: 13 March 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

13 March 2010 - Morning Manna

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2)

Today’s Morsel: Many people seem to be struggling in their lives these days. But how many of us ever stop to see what God is doing through our struggles. The story is told of a man who once saw a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. The man began to break off what he thought was part of the cocoon to free the butterfly, only to realize later that he had broken a part of the butterfly’s wing, and now the butterfly would not be able to fly. Thus, what the man thought was a help, actually became a hindrance. Sometimes when people are struggling, we may just need to leave them alone and let them struggle for a while, as we may not know what God is doing in molding the person into a beautiful butterfly who can fly. God is at work changing them from an ugly caterpillar crawling around on the ground to a beautiful butterfly who can fly. God wants all of His children to soar as eagles. And sometimes the process may place you in a struggle to perfect you. So let me encourage you today, if you know of someone who is struggling in their life, don’t try to help them out of it, as you may become a hindrance more than a help. We all have good intentions, but sometimes the best action is to do nothing. Simply be an encouragement to them and allow God to complete that He is doing in them. If they are truly born again, and they love the Lord and are called according to His purpose, they’ll be alright. John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Sing: Make me what I ought to be, Lord, make me to be more like thee. Bid me come up higher, till thy face I see; Lord make me to be more like thee.

About Morning Manna

And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat (Exodus 16:10-15).

“Morning Manna” is a short daily devotion which began in 2002, with just a short note of encouragement to a friend who was facing difficulties at the time. Through their response, I was encouraged to begin a daily devotion via email and send it to people who asked to be put on the distribution list. It is now reaching around the globe. Its birth came about during Morning Prayer. The Lord revealed to me that I should forward my friend a word of encouragement, since it is through patience and comfort of the scripture that we find hope. Thus, I forwarded him the words the Lord had given to me for him, and he forwarded it on to someone else who was having difficulties in their life as well, and thus the original list began.

The goal of “Morning Manna” is to provide people with a quick, thought provoking Word from the Lord, as well as provide encouragement from His Word that can help them through the day and during unexpected trails and circumstances in their daily lives.

Several years ago, Jesus moved on my heart to start writing daily devotions; thus began “Morning Manna”. Today, many people are receiving these daily devotions and many of these people are forwarding it on to their family and friends. It is my hope to encourage even more through posting the devotions to this blog-page.

I pray that you, too, will enjoy reading the manna from this site.